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Criminals created as consequence of govt’s ‘good standing’ policy

Vincent Wheatley

Labour Minister Vincent Wheatley has disclosed that illegal workers have been discovered as one of the unintended consequences of implementing the government’s ‘good-standing certificate requirement’ policy.

Under that policy requirement — which proved be very contentious for its many delays and bottlenecks — expat employees were required to submit good standing certificates of the employer’s company before the Labour Department accepts any work permit renewal applications.

Speaking in the House of Assembly last week — months after deciding to relax the policy — the minister explained that persons who did not receive good standing certificates do not simply stay home until they got the required documentation.

Instead, they still showed up for work.

“But they don’t have their documents, which means you are working illegally because you don’t have the good standing [certificates] to give you the work permit that you need,” Wheatley said in the House of Assembly on August 26.

“Unintentionally, we created a bunch of illegal workers at the same time [with the good standing policy change]. That was not an intended consequence,” he added.

The minister explained that the issue is one that needs to be looked at and revised at some point in the House of Assembly.

“We can’t create situations that create criminals or non-law-abiding citizens,” the minister added.

As things stand now, employers need to only acquire a valid receipt as evidence that they applied for a Certificate of Good Standing. As for employees, they also now only require a valid receipt proving they applied for certificates of earnings.

Each party — the company and its employee seeking the renewal — must get these receipts from the Inland Revenue Department, the Social Security Board, and the National Health Insurance.

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9 Comments

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  1. bob marley says:

    “laws cause crime and violence”

    • But.... says:

      “ We can’t create situations that create criminals or non-law-abiding citizens,” the minister added.”

      Isn’t a “non-law-abiding citizen a criminal?

  2. redstorm says:

    What foolishness. The department who did this, did not see this would have ended this way, after deductive reasoning some children would have said that the backlash would be ” what happen if the issuing department got overloaded with too many request and cannot filled the request, what happen then. I know people who leave this island as they were not getting the certificates, four months has passed and each time immigration given them one month time, after which they have to return again and again , and again to get time, so they give up. Now is to the drawing board.

  3. God bless says:

    Hmmmm Vincent one of these days God will deal with you the same way you treat others he will treat you the same…the same rules you apply to others he will apply to you..

    Remember they’re human not animals

  4. Irma chisit says:

    Who is kidding who here?

  5. Hmm says:

    Why dont you tell the works at those institutions to update their system when ppl make payment and rapido to get the letters to all the expats who applied.

  6. Stewww says:

    This man is a i***t lol
    He making foolish senseless rules and in the long run he look like a f**l lmfao
    But don’t worry god work mysteriously
    Vincent you are a wi**ed man

  7. Who is the criminal? says:

    Employers deduct SS, NHI and payroll taxes. Some employers pay them, some dont. Employees cant get certificates of good standing and you say they are criminals????
    Dont blame the employees, prosecute the real criminals.

  8. TRUE COLORS says:

    HE IS JUST FLEXING HIS MUSCLES ? AGAIN

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